Don’t mess with San Diego’s iconic beach tournament

The lawsuit challenging next month’s annual Over-The-Line Tournament on Fiesta Island is a spiteful maneuver by a group upset because its own request to allow alcohol at a beach event called the Leisure Olympics was rejected.

FreeBP.org, a nonprofit that crusades for the right to drink alcohol at city beaches and parks, went to court last week seeking to nullify the permit for the Over-The-Line Tournament, sponsored by the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club and scheduled for consecutive weekends beginning July 13. The OTL event has become an iconic San Diego institution, attracting some 50,000 people and known as much for beer, bathing suits and partying as for the “world championship” of the sport.

FreePB.org claims the city is giving preferential treatment to OMBAC by allowing alcohol at the OTL. Alcohol has been banned at all city beaches and waterfront parks since 2008. FreePB.org’s application for a permit was rejected by the Police Department on grounds that it’s proposal was not consistent with alcohol permit policies. The nonprofit appealed to a City Council committee, which also rejected it.

This is not the kind of dispute that should ever end up in court. We urge Mayor Bob Filner and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to work together to assure that the OTL is not derailed.